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20.7.2026
Europe will once again provide the largest continental contingent at the World Championships with 148 of the 256 named athletes represent 23 European delegations accounting for approximately 58 per cent of the competitors.
France, Czechia and Germany have the largest European teams, with 14 athletes each. Spain and Great Britain follow with 12 athletes, while Poland and Slovakia have entered ten each. Slovenia has nine competitors, with Ireland, Switzerland and AIN represented by eight athletes each.
Seven European paddlers will defend eight individual titles in Oklahoma City, while France and Czechia return as the reigning champions in all four team competitions.
Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska heads the list of defending champions after producing an exceptional double in Sydney, winning both the Women’s K1 and Women’s C1 world titles.
In the men’s events, France also arrives with two reigning world champions. Nicolas Gestin will defend the Men’s C1 crown, while Titouan Castryck returns as the defending Men’s K1 champion. All three athletes are confirmed in the respective Oklahoma City start lists.
Gestin and Castryck will face strong European opposition. Slovenia’s Ziga Lin Hocevar, Czechia’s Jakub Krejci, Italy’s Xabier Ferrazzi and several other young European athletes have already recorded important victories during the opening stages of the 2026 World Cup season.
The first medals of the championships will be awarded today in the Kayak Cross Individual events.
Switzerland’s Alena Marx will defend the Women’s Kayak Cross Individual title, while Spain’s David Llorente returns as the reigning Men’s Kayak Cross Individual world champion. Both athletes are included in the final start lists for Monday’s time trials.
The head-to-head Kayak Cross competition will conclude the championships on Saturday. France’s Angele Hug will defend the women’s world title, while Great Britain’s Joseph Clarke will attempt to win an extraordinary fifth successive Men’s Kayak Cross crown.
Clarke has dominated the event at World Championship level, winning in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025, and will once again be one of the leading European contenders in Oklahoma City.
European nations also hold all four team world titles.
France will defend the Men’s K1 team title with Titouan Castryck, Anatole Delassus and Martin Cornu. In Men’s C1, Nicolas Gestin and Yohann Senechault return from the winning 2025 team and will be joined by Jules Bernardet.
Czechia will defend both women’s team titles. Amalie Hilgertova, Katerina Bekova and Bara Galuskova will compete in the Women’s K1 team event, while Tereza Kneblova, Martina Satkova and Adriana Morenova form the Czech Women’s C1 team.
The championships open on Monday with the Men’s and Women’s Kayak Cross Individual time trials and the first medal ceremony of the week.
Tuesday will feature the Women’s and Men’s K1 heats, followed by the two Kayak Slalom team finals. The programme will move to canoe on Wednesday, with the Men’s and Women’s C1 heats followed by both Canoe Slalom team finals.
The individual K1 semifinal and final races will take place on Thursday, while the C1 world champions will be decided on Friday. Saturday is dedicated to the Kayak Cross competition, including the repechages, heats and final rounds, before the closing ceremony at 17:00 local time.
With every title from the 2025 World Championships currently held by European athletes or teams, Oklahoma City will provide another major test of the continent’s strength. It will also offer many of Europe’s leading paddlers their first opportunity to compete at the venue where Olympic medals will be decided in two years’ time.
© 2021 ECA
